Powered surgical device with speed and current derivative motor shut off

ABSTRACT

A surgical instrument includes: an end effector; a power source; a motor coupled to the power source, the motor configured to actuate the end effector; and a controller operatively coupled to the motor and configured to control the motor based on a current draw of the motor and an angular velocity of the motor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/946,327, filed on Apr. 5, 2018, which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/500,236 filed May2, 2017. The entire disclosures of all of the foregoing applications areincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to surgical devices. More specifically,the present disclosure relates to handheld electromechanical surgicalsystems for performing surgical procedures having reusable components.

2. Background of the Related Art

Linear clamping, cutting and stapling devices are used in surgicalprocedures to resect cancerous or anomalous tissue from agastro-intestinal tract. Conventional linear clamping, cutting andstapling instruments include a pistol grip-styled structure having anelongated shaft and an end effector having a pair of gripping membersdisposed at a distal end of the shaft to clamp, cut, and staple tissue.Actuation of the gripping members is usually accomplished by actuating atrigger coupled to the handle, in response to which one of the twogripping members, such as the anvil portion, moves or pivots relative tothe elongated shaft while the other gripping element remains fixed. Thefixed gripping member includes a staple cartridge and a mechanism forejecting the staples through the clamped tissue against the anvilportion, thereby stapling the tissue. The end effector may be integrallyformed with the shaft or may be detachable allowing forinterchangeability of various gripping and stapling members.

A number of surgical device manufacturers have also developedproprietary powered drive systems for operating and/or manipulating theend effectors. The powered drive systems may include a powered handleassembly, which may be reusable, and a disposable end effector that isremovably connected to the powered handle assembly.

Many of the existing end effectors for use with existing poweredsurgical devices and/or handle assemblies are driven by a linear drivingforce. For example, end effectors for performing endo-gastrointestinalanastomosis procedures, end-to-end anastomosis procedures, andtransverse anastomosis procedures, are actuated by a linear drivingforce. As such, these end effectors are not compatible with surgicaldevices and/or handle assemblies that use rotary motion.

Many of these electromechanical surgical devices include complex drivecomponents. To prevent actuation of drive mechanisms beyond mechanicallimits, various switches and sensors are used to detect operationalstate of the surgical devices. Inclusion of multiple switches and/orsensors adds to the cost and complexity of the surgical devices.Accordingly, there is a need for systems and apparatuses having safetymechanisms that can detect mechanical limits without relying on multiplemechanical limit sensors and/or switches disposed throughout thesurgical device.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a surgicalinstrument is provided. The surgical instrument includes: an endeffector; a power source; a motor coupled to the power source, the motorconfigured to actuate the end effector; and a controller operativelycoupled to the motor and configured to control the motor based on acurrent draw of the motor and an angular velocity of the motor.

According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the surgical instrumentfurther includes a motor control circuit configured to measure thecurrent draw of the motor and the angular velocity of the motor.

According to another aspect of the above embodiment, the controller maybe configured to calculate an instantaneous rate of change of each ofthe current draw of the motor and the angular velocity of the motor.

According to a further aspect of the above embodiment, the controllermay be further configured to determine that the motor reached amechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor being positive and the instantaneous rate ofchange of the angular velocity of the motor being negative. Thecontroller may also be configured to determine that the motor reached amechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor exceeding a first threshold, concurrently orotherwise, with the instantaneous rate of change of the angular velocityof the motor exceeding a second threshold.

According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the controller isconfigured to calibrate the motor based on the mechanical limit. Thecontroller may also be configured to terminate the supply of electricalcurrent to the motor from the power supply in response to detection ofthe mechanical limit.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method forcontrolling a surgical device is provided. The method includes:energizing a motor to actuate an end effector; measuring a current drawof the motor; measuring an angular velocity of the motor; andcontrolling the motor based on the current draw of the motor and theangular velocity of the motor.

According to one aspect of the above embodiment, the method includescalibrating the motor based on the mechanical limit.

According to another aspect of the above embodiment, the method furtherincludes terminating a supply of electrical current to the motor fromthe power supply in response to detection of the mechanical limit.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a methodfor calibrating a surgical instrument is disclosed. The method includes:energizing a motor to actuate an end effector; measuring a current drawof the motor; measuring an angular velocity of the motor; detecting themotor reaching a mechanical limit based on the current draw of the motorand the angular velocity of the motor; and designating an angularposition of the motor corresponding to the mechanical limit as a zeroposition for calibrating the motor.

According to one aspect of any of the above method embodiments, themethods may include calculating an instantaneous rate of change of eachof the current draw of the motor and the angular velocity of the motor.The methods may also include determining that the motor reached themechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor being positive and the instantaneous rate ofchange of the angular velocity of the motor being negative.

According to another aspect of any of the above embodiments, the methodsmay include determining that the motor reached the mechanical limitbased on the instantaneous rate of change of the current draw of themotor exceeding a first threshold, concurrently or otherwise, with theinstantaneous rate of change of the angular velocity of the motorexceeding a second threshold.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surgical system including a handheldsurgical device, an adapter assembly, and an end effector according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view, with parts separated, of thehandheld surgical device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front, perspective view of a power-pack and an inner rearhousing of FIG. 2 separated therefrom;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the handheld surgical device of FIG.2 taken along a section line “4-4”;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the handheld surgical device of FIG. 1according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a plot of motor current and average angular motor velocity ofthe handheld surgical device of FIG. 1 as controlled by the method ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for controlling the handheld surgicaldevice of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the presently disclosed surgical devices, and adapterassemblies for surgical devices and/or handle assemblies are describedin detail with reference to the drawings, in which like referencenumerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of theseveral views. As used herein the term “distal” refers to that portionof the adapter assembly or surgical device, or component thereof,farther from the user, while the term “proximal” refers to that portionof the adapter assembly or surgical device, or component thereof, closerto the user.

The present disclosure provides a powered surgical device including oneor more motors configured to actuate a surgical end effector and one ormore sensors configured to monitor motor operation, such as current drawand angular velocity. The powered surgical device also includes acontroller coupled to, and configured to control the motor based onfeedback from the sensors. The controller is configured to shut off themotor in the event of a collision, which is determined based on a rateof change of angular velocity and current draw by the motor. The angularvelocity and current draw may be plotted as a function of time and theslope of each plot may then be calculated using a derivative function todetermine the rate of change of each of the angular velocity and themotor current. These two outputs of the motor movement may be trackedsimultaneously. In the event of a collision, motor speed is reduced,thereby creating a negative slope, or rate of change, and motor currentincreases with the increasing load causing a positive slope, or rate ofchange. Once a negative motor speed derivative and a positive currentderivative simultaneously exceed respective preset thresholds, thecontroller shuts down the motor. In embodiments, the sensitivity of thesurgical device may be tuned by varying the derivative thresholds toeliminate false detections and prevent damage to the driven mechanisms.

The system and method according to the present disclosure allows fordetection of an imminent collision prior (e.g., by about 40milliseconds) to mechanical components of the surgical device actuallyencountering the mechanical limit. Early detection allows for thecontroller to decrease or shut down the motor thereby reducing the forceapplied to the mechanical components of the surgical device. This wouldprevent damage to mechanical components as well as conserve power andreduce stress on a power supply of the surgical device, (e.g., abattery) since current draw during the collision is reduced. Inembodiments, collision detection of the present disclosure may also beutilized in intentional collisions, e.g., attempts to reach mechanicallimits, to calibrate the motor.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a surgical system 2 according to the presentdisclosure includes a surgical device 100, which is shown as a poweredhand held electromechanical instrument, configured for selectiveattachment to a plurality of different end effectors or single useloading units (“SULU's”), such as an end effector 400. In particular,surgical device 100 is configured for selective connection with anadapter 200, and, in turn, adapter 200 is configured for selectiveconnection with the end effector 400.

With reference to FIGS. 1-4, surgical device 100 includes a power-pack101 (FIG. 2), and an outer shell housing 10 configured to selectivelyreceive and enclose the power-pack 101. Outer shell housing 10 includesa distal half-section 10 a and a proximal half-section 10 b. Theproximal half-section 10 b pivotably connected to distal half-section 10a by a hinge 16 located along an upper edge of distal half-section 10 aand proximal half-section 10 b such that distal and proximalhalf-sections 10 a, 10 b are divided along a plane that traverses alongitudinal axis defined by adapter 200. When joined, distal andproximal half-sections 10 a, 10 b define a shell cavity 10 c forreceiving power-pack 101.

With reference to FIG. 2, each of distal and proximal half-sections 10a, 10 b includes a respective upper shell portion 12 a, 12 b, and arespective lower shell portion 14 a, 14 b. Lower shell portion 14 aincludes a closure tab 18 a configured to engage a closure tab 18 b ofthe lower shell portion 14 b to selectively secure distal and proximalhalf-sections 10 a, 10 b to one another and for maintaining shellhousing 10 in a closed configuration.

Distal half-section 10 a of shell housing 10 also includes a connectingportion 20 configured to couple to a corresponding drive couplingassembly 210 of adapter 200. Specifically, the connecting portion 20includes a recess 21 configured to receive a portion of drive couplingassembly 210 of adapter 200 when adapter 200 is mated to surgical device100. Connecting portion 20 of distal half-section 10 a also definesthree apertures 22 a, 22 b, 22 c and an elongate slot 24 formed in adistally facing surface thereof.

Distal half-section 10 a of shell housing 10 also includes a pluralityof buttons such as a toggle control button 30. In embodiments, togglecontrol button 30 may be a two-axis control stick configured to beactuated in a left, right, up and down direction. The toggle controlbutton 30 may also be depressible.

Distal half-section 10 a of shell housing 10 may also support aplurality of other buttons such as a right-side pair of control buttonsand a left-side pair of control button. These buttons and othercomponents are described in detail in U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2016/0310134, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

With reference to FIG. 2, shell housing 10 includes a sterile barrierplate 60 removably supported in distal half-section 10 a. The sterilebarrier plate 60 interconnects the power-pack 101 and the adapter 200.Specifically, sterile barrier plate 60 is disposed behind connectingportion 20 of distal half-section 10 a and within shell cavity 10 c ofshell housing 10. Plate 60 includes three coupling shafts 64 a, 64 b, 64c rotatably supported therein. Each coupling shaft 64 a, 64 b, 64 cextends through a respective aperture 22 a, 22 b, 22 c of connectingportion 20 of distal half-section 10 a of shell housing 10.

Plate 60 further includes an electrical pass-through connector 66supported thereon. Pass-through connector 66 extends through aperture 24of connecting portion 20 of distal half-section 10 a when sterilebarrier plate 60 is disposed within shell cavity 10 c of shell housing10. Coupling shafts 64 a, 64 b, 64 c and pass-through connector 66electrically and mechanically interconnect respective correspondingfeatures of adapter 200 and the power-pack 101.

During use, the shell housing 10 is opened (i.e., distal half-section 10a is separated from proximal half-section 10 b about hinge 16),power-pack 101 is inserted into shell cavity 10 c of shell housing 10,and distal half-section 10 a is pivoted about hinge 16 to a closedconfiguration. In the closed configuration, closure tab 18 a of lowershell portion 14 a of distal half-section 10 a engages closure tab 18 bof lower shell portion 14 b of proximal half-section 10 b. Following asurgical procedure, shell housing 10 is opened and the power-pack 101 isremoved from shell cavity 10 c of shell housing 10. The shell housing 10may be discarded and the power-pack 101 may then be disinfected andcleaned.

Referring to FIGS. 2-4, power-pack 101 includes an inner handle housing110 having a lower housing portion 104 and an upper housing portion 108extending from and/or supported on lower housing portion 104. The innerhandle housing 110 also includes a distal half-section 110 a and aproximal half-section 110 b, which define an inner housing cavity 110 c(FIG. 3) for housing a power-pack core assembly 106 (FIG. 3). Power-packcore assembly 106 is configured to control the various operations ofsurgical device.

With reference to FIG. 3, distal half-section 110 a of inner handlehousing 110 supports a distal toggle control interface 130 that isoperatively engaged with toggle control button 30 of shell housing 10,such that when power-pack 101 is disposed within shell housing 10,actuation of toggle control button 30 exerts a force on toggle controlinterface 130. Distal half-section 110 a of inner handle housing 110also supports various other control interfaces which operatively engageother buttons of shell housing 10.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, power-pack core assembly 106 includes abattery circuit 140, a motor controller circuit 143, a main controllercircuit 145, a main controller 147, and a rechargeable battery 144configured to supply power to any of the electrical components ofsurgical device 100.

Power-pack core assembly 106 further includes a display screen 146supported on main controller circuit 145. Display screen 146 is visiblethrough a clear or transparent window 110 d disposed in proximalhalf-section 110 b of inner handle housing 110.

Power-pack core assembly 106 further includes a first motor 152 (FIG.4), a second motor 154 (FIG. 3), and a third motor 156 (FIG. 4) eachelectrically connected to controller circuit 143 and battery 144. Motors152, 154, 156 are disposed between motor controller circuit 143 and maincontroller circuit 145. Each motor 152, 154, 156 is controlled by arespective motor controller (not shown) that are disposed on motorcontroller circuit 143 and are coupled to a main controller 147. Themain controller 147 is also coupled to memory 141 (FIG. 5), which isalso disposed on the motor controller circuit 143. The main controller147 communicates with the motor controllers through an FPGA, whichprovides control logic signals (e.g., coast, brake, etc. and any othersuitable control signals). The motor controllers output correspondingenergization signals to their respective motors 152, 154, 156 usingfixed-frequency pulse width modulation (PWM).

Power-pack core assembly 106 also includes an electrical receptacle 149.Electrical receptacle 149 is in electrical connection with maincontroller board 145 via a second ribbon cable (not shown). Electricalreceptacle 149 defines a plurality of electrical slots for receivingrespective electrical contacts extending from pass-through connector 66of plate 60 (FIG. 2) of shell housing 10.

Each motor 152, 154, 156 includes a respective motor shaft (not shown)extending therefrom. Each motor shaft may have a recess defined thereinhaving a tri-lobe transverse cross-sectional profile for receivingproximal ends of respective coupling shaft 64 a, 64 b, 64 c of plate 60of shell housing 10.

Rotation of motor shafts by respective motors 152, 154, 156 actuatesshafts and/or gear components of adapter 200 in order to perform thevarious operations of surgical device 100. In particular, motors 152,154, 156 of power-pack core assembly 106 are configured to actuateshafts and/or gear components of adapter 200 in order to selectivelyactuate components of the end effector 400, to rotate end effector 400about a longitudinal axis, and to pivot the end effector 400 about apivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis defined by the adapter200.

With reference to FIG. 5, a schematic diagram of the power-pack 101 isshown. For brevity, only one of the motors 152, 154, 156 is shown,namely, motor 152. The motor 152 is coupled to the battery 144. Inembodiments, the motor 152 may be coupled to any suitable power sourceconfigured to provide electrical energy to the motor 152, such as anAC/DC transformer.

The battery 144 and the motor 152 are coupled to the motor controllercircuit 143 which controls the operation of the motor 152 including theflow of electrical energy from the battery 144 to the motor 152. Themotor controller circuit 143 includes a plurality of sensors 408 a, 408b, . . . 408 n configured to measure operational states of the motor 152and the battery 144. The sensors 408 a-n may include voltage sensors,current sensors, temperature sensors, telemetry sensors, opticalsensors, and combinations thereof. The sensors 408 a-408 n may measurevoltage, current, and other electrical properties of the electricalenergy supplied by the battery 144. The sensors 408 a-408 n may alsomeasure angular velocity (e.g., rotational speed) as revolutions perminute (RPM), torque, temperature, current draw, and other operationalproperties of the motor 152. Angular velocity may be determined bymeasuring the rotation of the motor 152 or a drive shaft (not shown)coupled thereto and rotatable by the motor 152. Position of variousaxially movable drive shafts may also be determined by using variouslinear sensors disposed in or in proximity to the shafts or extrapolatedfrom the RPM measurements. In embodiments, torque may be calculatedbased on the regulated current draw of the motor 152 at a constant RPM.In further embodiments, the motor controller circuit 143 and/or thecontroller 147 may measure time and process the above-described valuesas a function thereof, including integration and/or differentiation,e.g., to determine the rate of change in the measured values.

The motor controller circuit 143 is also coupled to the controller 147,which includes a plurality of inputs and outputs for interfacing withthe motor controller circuit 143. In particular, the controller 147receives measured sensor signals from the motor controller circuit 143regarding operational status of the motor 152 and the battery 144 and,in turn, outputs control signals to the motor controller circuit 143 tocontrol the operation of the motor 152 based on the sensor readings andspecific algorithm instructions, which are discussed in more detailbelow. The controller 147 is also configured to accept a plurality ofuser inputs from a user interface (e.g., switches, buttons, touchscreen, etc. coupled to the controller 147).

The present disclosure provides for an apparatus and method forcontrolling the surgical device 100 or any other powered surgicalinstrument, including, but not limited to, linear powered staplers,circular or arcuate powered staplers, graspers, electrosurgical sealingforceps, rotary tissue morecellating devices, and the like. Inparticular, torque, RPM, position, and acceleration of drive shafts ofthe surgical device 100 can be correlated to motor characteristics(e.g., current draw). Current drawn by the motor 152 may be used fordetecting mechanical limits since the current drawn by the motor 152 andits angular velocity change in response to the mechanical loadencountered by the motor 152. Thus, analysis of the amount of change(e.g., rate of change) of current draw and angular velocity allows fordistinguishing between different types of load conditions, e.g., loadexerted by tissue versus load exerted by a mechanical stop.

The method according to the present disclosure for detecting mechanicallimits may be used to detect collisions of mechanical components of thesurgical system 2 (e.g., of end effector 400 and adapter 200), which mayoccur due to reaching end-of-travel positions or encounteringobstructions by the end effector 400 during surgery. In furtherembodiments, intentional collisions may be used to calibrate motors 152,154, 156 at start up or other times when the surgical device 100 needsto be recalibrated (e.g., attachment of a new adapter 200 or endeffector 400). During calibration, the motor 152 is driven in adirection to cause a collision at a known mechanical position, e.g., ahard stop. Once the collision is detected by the controller 147, thenthe motor 152 is stopped, and the resulting angular motor position isdesignated as a zero position by the controller 147. In embodiments,collision may be detected by monitoring current draw of the motor 152and detecting a current draw spike 502 a of the plot 502 as shown inFIG. 6. With particular reference to FIG. 6, a current spike reachingapproximately 4,000 milliamperes may be used to denote that the motor152 has encountered its mechanical limit and a hardstop is detected.

With reference to FIG. 6, the current spike 502 a begins to develop atapproximately 1,390 milliseconds, whereas the spike 502 a reaches itspeak at approximately 1,430 milliseconds, resulting in a lag time ofabout 40 milliseconds, during which the motor 152 continues to actuatemechanical components. This excessive movement by the motor 152 maydamage mechanical components and/or unnecessarily draw power from thebattery 144. In addition, as the usable life efficiency of the motor 152decreases, the motor 152 uses more current to perform the same amount ofmechanical work. While a current filter or threshold that is used todetermine the mechanical limit of about 4,000 milliamperes may besufficient to determine that an actual collision has occurred when themotor 152 is relatively new, (e.g., less than 10 hours of operation) thesame threshold may not be suitable for an older motor 152 (e.g., 20hours of operation or more). In particular, a motor at the end of itsusable life may cross the 4,000 threshold prior to actually encounteringa mechanical limit, thus generating a false position for a hardstop bythe controller 147. As a result of an incorrect identification of a zeroposition, the controller 147 may improperly calibrate the motor 152. Inorder to deal with this eventuality, current draw thresholds may be sethigh enough to prevent false collision protection over the life of themotor 152. However, this overcompensation results in motor stop currentlimits being higher than needed. As shown in FIG. 6, the current draw atabout 40 milliseconds prior to collision is about 1/10 of the currentdraw threshold.

With reference to FIG. 7, a method according to the present disclosurefor determining mechanical limits and/or collisions is disclosed. Themethod may be used to determine intentional collisions, such as duringcalibration, as well as unintentional collisions, such as during use ofthe surgical device 100. The method utilizes two values, namely, currentdraw and angular velocity, and rather than simply comparing the measuredparameters to a predetermined threshold, the method calculatesinstantaneous rates of change of these parameters. The calculatedinstantaneous rates of change are then compared to respective rate ofchange thresholds. In embodiments, the method according to the presentdisclosure allows the surgical device 100 to detect the mechanicallimits and/or collisions sooner than simply comparing measured motorparameters to thresholds.

The method may be embodied as an algorithm and computer-readableinstructions executable by the controller 147. The controller 147 iscoupled to the memory 141 or any other suitable, computer-readable,non-transitory medium for storing software instructions (e.g.,algorithm) for detecting mechanical limits of the surgical device 100based on the measured current draw and angular velocity. As used herein,the term “mechanical limit” denotes any of the electromechanicalcomponents reaching end-of-travel positions.

Initially, in step 600, the controller 147 signals the motor controllercircuit 143 to operate the motor 152 based on desired user input, suchas, for example, to control the motor 152, 154, 156 to articulate,actuate, or fire the end effector 400, or rotate the adapter 200 aboutits longitudinal axis. The controller 147 provides the desired commandto the motor controller circuit 143, which then outputs correspondingenergization signals to the motor 152 to effectuate the commandsreceived from the controller 147. As the motor 152 is operated, themotor controller circuit 143 continuously monitors operationalparameters of the motor 152 including angular velocity of the motor 152as it is rotating and the current draw of the motor 152.

In steps 602 a and 602 b, the motor controller circuit 143 then measuresand provides the angular velocity and current draw signals to thecontroller 147, respectively. In embodiments, the controller 147 maygenerate an angular velocity plot 500 and a current draw plot 502 asshown in FIG. 7 based on the received measurement data from the motorcontroller circuit 143. The plots 500 and 502 may be a collection ofdata points of the measurements collected by the motor controllercircuit 143. In further embodiments, the plots 500 and 502 may notvisualized or graphed by the controller 147 (e.g., output on a displaydevice) and may be simply stored in the memory 141 for use by thecontroller 147.

In steps 604 a and 604 b, the controller 147 is configured tocontinuously process the measurement data of angular velocity andcurrent draw, respectively, which includes continuously calculating thederivatives for each of these values. The controller 147 determinesinstantaneous rates of change for the angular velocity and the currentdraw. In embodiments, the controller 147 is configured to track theslopes of each of the plots 500 and 502, which are also calculated usingthe derivative function to obtain the instantaneous rates of changevalues.

In step 606, the controller 147 then compares the calculatedinstantaneous rates of change of each of the angular velocity andcurrent draw of the motor 152 to their respective thresholds. Withrespect to angular velocity, the threshold corresponds to a negativeslope or instantaneous rate of change since upon encountering amechanical limit, the angular speed of the motor 152 decreasesprecipitously as shown by a spike 500 a of plot 500 of FIG. 6. Withrespect to current draw, the threshold corresponds to a positive slopeor instantaneous rate of change since upon encountering a mechanicallimit, the current draw of the motor increases, as illustrated by aspike 502 a of the plot 502 of FIG. 6. The angular velocity and currentdraw rates of change thresholds may be adjusted to eliminate falsedetection of mechanical limit detection.

The controller 147 determines that a mechanical limit is reached whenboth of the instantaneous rates of change of the angular velocity andthe current draw exceed their respective predetermined thresholdsconcurrently. If this is so, the controller 147, confirms that amechanical stop has been reached.

The controller 147 may then utilize the collision detection based on theuse of the algorithm. During calibration, the controller 147 shuts downthe motor 154 in step 608 and then assigns the position of the motor 152to a zero position. The zero position is then used by the controller 147to calculate longitudinal distance traveled by the mechanical componentsbeing actuated by the motor 152.

During use, the controller 147 may use the collision detection to signalthe motor controller circuit 143 to stop the motor 152 in step 608,which then issues corresponding brake commands to the motor 152. Inaddition, the controller 147 may issue audio and/or visual alerts to theuser that the surgical device 100 encountered an issue due to anunexpected collision and/or reaching a mechanical limit.

It should be understood that the foregoing description is onlyillustrative of the present disclosure. Various alternatives andmodifications can be devised by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances.The embodiments described with reference to the attached drawing figuresare presented only to demonstrate certain examples of the disclosure.Other elements, steps, methods and techniques that are insubstantiallydifferent from those described above and/or in the appended claims arealso intended to be within the scope of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A surgical instrument, comprising: a powersource; a motor coupled to the power source, the motor configured toactuate at least one component of a surgical instrument; and acontroller operatively coupled to the motor and configured to: calculatean instantaneous rate of change of a current draw of the motor;calculate an instantaneous rate of change of an angular velocity of themotor; and determine that the motor reached a mechanical limit based onthe instantaneous rate of change of the current draw of the motorexceeding a first threshold and the instantaneous rate of change of theangular velocity of the motor exceeding a second threshold.
 2. Thesurgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to determine that the motor reached a mechanical limit basedon the instantaneous rate of change of the current draw of the motorbeing positive and the instantaneous rate of change of the angularvelocity of the motor being negative.
 3. The surgical instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determinethat the motor reached the mechanical limit based on the instantaneousrate of change of the current draw of the motor exceeding the firstthreshold concurrently with the instantaneous rate of change of theangular velocity of the motor exceeding the second threshold.
 4. Thesurgical instrument according to claim 3, wherein the controller isconfigured to calibrate the motor based on the mechanical limit.
 5. Thesurgical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to terminate a supply of electrical current to the motor fromthe power source in response to detection of the mechanical limit.
 6. Amethod for controlling a surgical device, the method comprising:energizing a motor to actuate at least one component of a surgicaldevice; calculating an instantaneous rate of change of a current draw ofthe motor; calculating an instantaneous rate of change of an angularvelocity of the motor; and determining that the motor reached amechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor exceeding a first threshold and theinstantaneous rate of change of the angular velocity of the motorexceeding a second threshold.
 7. The method according to claim 6,further comprising: determining that the motor reached a mechanicallimit based on the instantaneous rate of change of the current draw ofthe motor being positive and the instantaneous rate of change of theangular velocity of the motor being negative.
 8. The method according toclaim 6, further comprising: determining that the motor reached themechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor exceeding the first threshold concurrentlywith the instantaneous rate of change of the angular velocity of themotor exceeding the second threshold.
 9. The method according to claim8, further comprising: calibrating the motor based on the mechanicallimit.
 10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:terminating a supply of electrical current to the motor from a powersource in response to detection of the mechanical limit.
 11. A methodfor calibrating a surgical instrument, the method comprising: energizinga motor to actuate at least one component of a surgical instrument;measuring a current draw of the motor; measuring an angular velocity ofthe motor; detecting the motor reaching a mechanical limit based on thecurrent draw of the motor and the angular velocity of the motor; anddesignating an angular position of the motor corresponding to themechanical limit as a zero position for calibrating the motor.
 12. Themethod according to claim 11, further comprising: calculating aninstantaneous rate of change of each of the current draw of the motorand the angular velocity of the motor.
 13. The method according to claim12, further comprising: determining that the motor reached themechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate of change of thecurrent draw of the motor being positive and the instantaneous rate ofchange of the angular velocity of the motor being negative.
 14. Themethod according to claim 13, further comprising: determining that themotor reached the mechanical limit based on the instantaneous rate ofchange of the current draw of the motor exceeding a first threshold andthe instantaneous rate of change of the angular velocity of the motorexceeding a second threshold.
 15. The method according to claim 13,further comprising: determining that the motor reached the mechanicallimit based on the instantaneous rate of change of the current draw ofthe motor exceeding a first threshold concurrently with theinstantaneous rate of change of the angular velocity of the motorexceeding a second threshold.